WHAT IT’S LIKE TO FINALLY BE HIP

March 10, 2017

It really does creep up on you—the pain that is. Minimal at first for a few months but at least livable. I thought I could exercise and stretch to lessen the discomfort and that did work to a great degree. That was approximately seven (7) months ago. Reality did set in with the pain being so great that something had to be done.

In the decade of the eighties, I was an avid runner with thoughts of running a marathon or even marathons. My dream was to run the New York City and Boston Marathon first then concentrate on local 10 K events. After one year I would concentrate on the Atlanta marathon—at least that was the plan. I was clocking about twenty to thirty miles per week with that goal in mind. All of my running was on pavement with three five miles runs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and a ten-mile run on Saturday. It did seem reasonable. I would drive the courses to get exact mileage and vary the routes just to mix it up a little and bring about new scenery. After several weeks, I noticed pains starting to develop around the twenty-five miles per week distances. They did go away but always returned towards the latter part of each week. Medical examinations would later show the beginning of arthritis in my right hip. I shortened my distances hoping to alleviate the pain and that worked to some extent for a period of time.

Time caught up with me. The pains were so substantial I could not tie my shoe laces or stoop to pick up an article on the floor. It was time to pull the trigger.

TOTAL HIP REPLACEMENT:

In a total hip replacement (also called total hip arthroplasty), the damaged bone and cartilage is removed and replaced with prosthetic components.

The damaged femoral head is removed and replaced with a metal stem that is placed into the hollow center of the femur. The femoral stem may be either cemented or “press fit” into the bone. One of the first procedures is dislocating the hip so femoral stem may be removed.

A metal or ceramic ball is placed on the upper part of the stem. This ball replaces the damaged femoral head that was removed.

The damaged cartilage surface of the socket (acetabulum) is removed and replaced with a metal socket. Screws or cement are sometimes used to hold the socket in place.

A plastic, ceramic, or metal spacer is inserted between the new ball and the socket to allow for a smooth gliding surface.I chose to have an epidural so recovery would be somewhat quicker and the aftereffects lessened. I do not regret that choice and would recommend that to anyone undergoing hip replacement. One day home and I’m following my doctor’s orders to a “T”. Doing everything and then some to make sure I touch all of the bases. I was very tempted to pull up “U”- TUBE to see how the surgery was accomplished but after hearing it was more carpentry than medicine, I decided I would delay that investigation for a year-or forever. Some things I just might not need to know.

Sorry for this post being somewhat short but the meds are wearing off and I need to “reload”. I promise to do better in the very near future.